TANAGERS

Summer Tanager 

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Piranga rubra

The Summer Tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family, it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family. Their plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.

Adult males have rose-red plumage overall, with wings and tail slightly duller. They retain the red plumage year-round.

The conical, strong bill is horn colored, becoming darker in winter. Eyes are dark brown. Legs and feet are pale gray-brown.

Females have dull brownish-olive plumage with narrow yellowish edges on wing coverts. Wings appear to have the same color as the body.

Some females may show overall reddish wash, or red tinge on wings, tail and body.

Immature males have spotted plumage, with orange-red patches on yellowish plumage.

The Summer Tanager is a bulky bird. They are about 17 inches long and have a wingspan of 11.0 - 11.8 inches, and weigh about 30 grams.

CALL: Loud, clicking, including two notes “pik-i-tuck”. Intensity may vary. When near rivals, the male gives faster and rolled version “prrit-i-tuk-tuk-tuk”. When it is alone and quiet, the call is slower “pi-tuk”. During territorial disputes, it utters a whining “cheeew”.

SONG: A sweet, clear series of carolling whistled notes. Their songs have real musical quality, rather thrush-like phrases.

They are mainly insectivorous, feeding on flying and terrestrial insects, such as beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers, ants, caterpillars. They also feed on spiders, and may consume fruit and berries. But during summer, they feed mainly on bees and wasps, adults and larvae.

Breeds in open woodlands of oak or pine-oak, riparian woodlands of cottonwoods and willows, and it also may be found in orchards and parks.
Eastern birds prefer open deciduous woods, and western birds occupy riparian woodlands.

Winters in open woodlands, forest edges, trees in parks and gardens in cities.
In Mexico, it inhabits humid evergreen forest and tropical deciduous forest.

Breeds in the southern United States and northern Mexico, northwards in the east to southern Iowa and New Jersey.

Winters from southern Mexico, southwards to northern South America.

The female gathers the nest materials and builds an open-cup nest with dried grasses, weeds, leaves, spider webs and strips of bark. It is lined with fine grasses. It is weaved in a crude fashion and often a loose construction, so thin that eggs can be seen through the bottom. In other parts of the range, particularly in western parts, the nest is well constructed. 

The female lays 3 - 4 pale blue or pale green eggs, spotted with brown. She incubates them for 12 - 13 days, sometimes fed by the male. Altricial chicks are fed by both parents, male giving food to female who gives it to chicks. Young leave the nest about 8 - 10 days after hatching. They start to fly at 10 days. Adults and young stay together for 3 - 4 weeks after fledging.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com